Dread Doctors
by FreeLion
Summary: Barry just wants to get his father out of prison. Iris wants to figure out whats going on in this town. Cisco is pinning after a girl and Caitlin finds a book that doesn't belong to her. When a body is discovered in the woods, strange things start to occur in the town. Teenagers vanish, people die and the only way to stop it is to find the persons behind the masks.


**Not sure if this is a oneshot of if I'm writing more chapters. I mean, I have no idea what I did here.**

 **Still hope you enjoy it, write me if you have questions, criticism or anything else.**

And Barry's threw as hard as he could, but still missed.

Iris looked from the ball, which lay several feet away from her on the grass, back to Barry's outstretched arm with the lacrosse stick in it. He panted and cracked his head.

"How about we call it a night?" he asked out of breath and moved a hand through his now sweaty hair.

"Nope, you said you wanted to get better at this, now this is your chance." Iris grinned and walked up to him.

It was not really late, but unusually dark for this warm summer night. Usually, Barry and Iris would still be at a friend house or going to a party. After all, it was Friday evening. But since Barry had told her, that he needed help with his back shots, she agreed to help him.

"That was before I knew that it would be too dark to play" he grimaced and stretched his long legs.

"Well, I would not say that you can't play because it's too dark…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he interrupted. Barry looked at her with something between anger and mischief.

"It means that your back shots suck" Iris grinned and walked around him towards the back door. She looked inside and saw her father Joe, a detective who worked for the Central City Police Department, watching the news on their old, but still functioning, TV.

 _"…_ _old Eliza Harmon is still missing. Eliza was last seen in May by the waterfront in Central City. She was wearing a red leather jacket and blue jeans. If you've seen her, please call the number on the bottom of the screen. Police still believes that…"_

Iris blinked. She heard that name before, but she couldn't place it. Maybe it was someone from school? I mean Central High was a pretty big school, but she thought she knew almost everyone there. She shook her head and looked back to Barry, who now lay on the grass, eyes closed.

"What are you doing now?" Iris asked and moved closer to him. Sitting down, she searched for stars but couldn't find any. It was like the dark sky had swallowed them all.

Barry looked up and stared at her for a moment.

"Now I'm relaxing." He stated matter of fact and sat up.

Iris sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.

"But you said you wanted to get better." She nudged him and he wriggled away from her.

"I know, but I'm too tired to play right now." He sighed. It was not only because he was tired, he was also frustrated. He wanted to get better, wanted to make first line this year. He wanted to make his das proud. His father, Henry Allen, who sat in Iron Heights since he was eleven years old. But he also wanted to make his foster father Joe proud, show him, that he was not this scared little boy anymore. Also he wanted to impress Iris, I mean, he had a crush on her since third grade. But how things were going….

Barry stood up fast, surprising Iris for a moment, and stretched.

"Also, I promised Cait I would bring her stuff back. You know, the books she gave me."

Laying the lacrosse stick on the grass, he stretched his legs again and locked back to Iris, who grinned at him.

"You only want to get rid of me." She sighed melodramatic and put her hand to her heart.

Barry laughed.

"Maybe…" he grinned and she poked his side. He laughed again.

"Should I come with you? I mean, it's pretty dark now…" she trailed off and looked towards the street. The lights seemed not to be working as well, as four or five remained dark, only three illuminated the street. A shiver ran through down her spine.

"Nah, I will be fine. As long as you don't you touch my fries again. I even marked them in the freezer with _don't touch them, Iris_." He grinned. He did not seemed alarmed at all by the darkness looming over the city. Iris sighed.

"Aight, I will not touch them. But text me when you're there." She said and hugged him.

"Of course." He smiled and moved towards the door to get Caitlin's book in his room.

Iris followed him inside and looked towards her dad. He smiled and signaled her that she should sit down next to him.

"So how is my little girl?" he asked and put an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm not a little girl anymore." She grinned.

"So, how's work dad? Anything new about Eliza Harmon?" she asked and her smile vanished. Growing up, Iris wouldn't stop talking about how she wanted to be a reporter, she couldn't think of anything else she wanted to do when she's all grown up. That must be her reporter instincts, Joe thought. He signed and removed his arm from Iris shoulder.

"You watched the news, didn't you? No, nothing new. It's like she vanished. Her parents are visiting the precinct every day and ask us if we know anything new. Poor folks." Joe's eyes moved from Iris to the muted news report and back to her.

"But anyone must have seen anything…" she started but Joe cut her off.

"I'm not talking about confidential police work with you. Iris, you know better." Joe stood up walked towards to kitchen, probably to escape this situation. But Iris followed him. She walked up to the kitchen counter and looked at her father.

"I mean, I don't want to know at all. But I'm just curious. Did someone kidnap her? Is there some psychopath running around? I know you just want me to be safe, I know you dad. And also Barry. And Wally. So, I'm just asking for my own safety and…"

"And I said no, Iris." Joe signed. He moved around her and took a coke out of the refrigerator. Looking at the clock he asked. "And where is your brother by the way? I did not see him all day."

As if he heard his name, Wally, also known as Wallace West, entered the house with a loud _bang_.

Joe walked towards the kitchen door and saw Wally sprawled out on the floor, apparently he tripped over one of Barry's many lacrosse sticks. And he told that boy to put them away.

"Wally, how are you?" he asked and helped his son up.

"Good, so why can't Barry put his stuff away? Every time he leaved something laying on the floor…" he muttered and kicked the lacrosse stick lightly.

"That is one good question, Wally…" Joe signed and put the lacrosse stick away. Then he looked at his son again and smiled.

"So, where have you been, Wally? I did not see you all day." And Joe moved closer to him.

Wally blushed and Iris chuckled at that.

"Well, I meet up with Jesse…. You know, for studying, we have a history test tomorrow…" he rambled and moved a hand through is rather short hair.

"And I should go to bed, you know, get up early for the test…" he rambled again and moved around his father and ran up the stairs. One thing Wally and Barry had in common: they could ran like hell if they wanted to, Joe thought and smiled.

And as Wally ran up the stairs, Barry looked up and stared after him, slightly confused. In his hands he had dozens of books, papers and other stuff. Balancing Caitlin's stuff in his arms, he slowly walked down the stairs.

"You know Barr, you should put your stuff away, other people might trip over it…" Joe stated and moved out of Barry's way as he walked up to the front door. Barry grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, I think Wally might be the only one tripping but I put it away next time." And before Joe could lecture his son anymore, Barry was out of the house in a flash.

Barry almost ran to his bike. Just a normal black bicycle, he was still saving for a motorcycle license. He put all the books he had in his arms on the bike, which screeched a little under the weight. Hoping nothing would fall down on his short ride to Caitlin, he sat down and rode slowly down the dark road. The street lanterns were dark and the only few that spent a little light seemed to make static noises. Barry shook his head. This was Central City, and despite the name, it was more like a small town. They only had one High School here, not like big cities who had dozens of them. And nothing ever happened here. Cisco would tell him to stop bitching about it. But still…

Riding down the road, Barry's dark spirit lifted when he saw Caitlin's house. Well, more like the Snow's house. It wasn't Caitlin's house at all, it was her mom's. He shook his head and blushed. Every time he got here, he couldn't collect his thoughts. And Caitlin was to blame. Well, maybe he was to blame as well. The thing was, yes, Barry still had this big crush on Iris, but…Well, how to put it?

One time, at Tony's party, Barry got pretty wasted. And after a little fight with Iris on that day, he sulked for the better half of the evening. Until Caitlin Snow found him and talked to him. And he didn't know where this impulse came from, but he kissed her. And the rest of the evening was a haze. He couldn't remember it. Of course, Caitlin knew that Barry liked Iris, so they agreed to never talk about this again. After all, they were best friends. There was no way that they could be attracted to each other in this way… But after that evening, Barry saw Caitlin in another light. And it frustrated him. But she was still one of his best friends, so he would man up and be there for her… as a friend.

Blushing he looked up to her open window and an idea struck him. Balancing the books on one arm, he used the other to climb up the cherry blossom tree. Panting, after a day of lacrosse practice and an evening with throwing balls at everything but Iris, he moved up the tree, up to the roof and he knocked slightly at the open window.

"Barry!" Caitlin said out loud, a hand moving towards her heart and she looked slightly taken back. She sat on her bed, a laptop on her lap and apparently doing her homework which made Barry groan.

"Hey Cait, thought I would bring you your stuff back." He grinned and placed the books on the floor before maneuvering himself in her room. Almost falling down, he stood up and grinned at her.

"Barry, you could have brought them tomorrow, my mom is gonna flip if she sees you." She sighed, moved the laptop away and signaled him to sit down next to her.

"If." He stated matter of fact and sat down.

She sighed but smiled at him. He always managed to make her smile.

"So, how was your day? Didn't see you after practice." He said and laid down on her bed. She rolled her eyes.

"I studied for Wells test, which would be something you could do as well." She looked at him but he ignored it.

Stretching his legs for the third time today, he closed his eyes and moved his head closer to her pillow.

"I studied, but I had practice and then I had to practice again… with Iris… Did I mention I suck at back shots?" he opened one eye to look at her. She still looked a bit disappointed, but her expression softened.

She ruffled though his hair and laid down as well.

"Did my notes at least help? And the books? You know I can help you study…" she started but Barry interrupted her.

"It's fine Cait, really. And thank you for the notes and books." His head moved closer and he looked into her eyes. She blinked.

Caitlin sighed and stood up and Barry's eyes followed her.

"I know you like Iris, but you should… I don't know… just tell her. It makes me sad to see so…" he stopped and thought for the right word.

"I just want to see you happy." She said ad moved closer to him.

Barry smiled.

"I know you do. I want to see you smile all the time too, you know. But… I'm working on it." He stood up and moved in front of her.

"Come on, at least give me a hug Bartholomew Allen. It would make _me_ happy." Caitlin grinned and tried to change the subject. He laughed softly and moved his arms around her, lifting her up and he span her around. She giggled when he released her, but was interrupted by ringtone of Barry's phone. He lifted his eyebrows.

"Hey Cisco, what's up?" he asked and Caitlin smiled at his confused facial expression.

 _"_ _Yo string bean, where are you? I have to tell you something, man, it's exciting!"_ Cisco's voice answered.

"What? Slow down, what's going on?" Barry's confusion only grew and he sat down on Caitlin's bed again while she moved her books from the floor to her desk.

 _"_ _So, they called your dad twenty minutes ago, yeah sorry I should not listen to the police radio, but hear me out. Two joggers found a body in the woods."_ Cisco almost squealed.

"So? If they found it…" but Cisco interrupted him.

 _"_ _You don't get it, they only found half of it. So come over here! We're going!"_ Cisco stated.

As horrid as is sounded, Barry thought this was interesting. If there was a murderer around and they would catch him maybe that would show Joe that Barry was capable of finding his mother's murderer.

"Aight, I'm there as fast as I can." He said and ended the call.

Caitlin looked at him and shook her head.

"Go, but don't do anything stupid. I know you and Cisco, I'm not patching you up if you get in trouble."

Barry grinned sheepishly.

"Don't worry, he just found some cool comic he has to show me. I'll write you later." He hugged her again and moved outside through her window.

Caitlin sighed and looked at the books on her desk. She had to put them back on her shelf. She grabbed the first book but stopped. This was not one of her books.

 _A terrifying tale about science fiction and horror_

 _The Dread Doctors_

 _By Owen Debarath_

This had to be one of Barry's or Cisco's science fiction novels. Apparently Barry had brought some of his books as well. On the cover there were three figures with mask, looking at the reader. Caitlin turned the book and began to read.

 _The Dread Doctors_

 _"_ _They're coming for all of us"_

 _In a small New England town, teenagers are taken in the night and buried alive. Days later they emerge transformed, wreaking havoc and spreading terror, commanded by an ancient order of parascientists known only as the dread doctors._

"Interesting book, Barry." She mumbled and looked outside the window to see Barry riding his bike away from her house, not hearing the strange static noise coming from her desk.

As Barry rode towards the Central City preserve, he thought about tomorrow. And he dreaded it. They had lacrosse practice again, and even Cisco agreed to be there, but this time was different. The coach would choose a new co-captain and the new first line, and he wanted to make it this year. He had to. Slowly driving on the wet pavement he saw the Central City Preserve sign and Cisco's old truck. As he saw his friend, Cisco grinned, opened the door and came outside.

"There you are Barry, man that was fast, even for you." And he high fived him.

"So, what is your plan?" Barry asked and looked around. It was getting darker and darker, unusual dark.

"Well, I brought flashlights, water and this little shock thing I invented." And he opened his bag to show his friend his stuff. He gave Barry a flashlight and signaled him to follow him.

They walked into the woods and Barry regretted this idea already.

"So, what are we supposed to do when we find it? Call the police?" Barry asked nervously and looked around.

"Maybe call your dad, didn't think about this part." Cisco stated and moved a hand through his hair.

"Well, if we find it, of course. But imagine we find it that would be better than this Twilight Zone episode we saw last week."

"Hopefully…" Barry answered. Looking around he only saw trees and shadows, but no body.

They moved deeper into the woods, almost tripping every step over some wood. Barry cursed after he fell down and ruined his jeans.

"So, what it's up with you? Still pinning over Iris?" Cisco asked and illuminated the forest with his flashlight.

"Mmh, nothing. Man, you know I like her. And you? Still pinning over Gypsy?" he fired back and tripped again.

"Huh, no of course not." Cisco rambled.

"But you can't deny that she has something most girls don't have. I mean, I thought I could invite her... You know, so we could study together... Over dinner… Study and have dinner… Something like that…" he said and Cisco was happy that Barry could not see him blush. Of course he liked Gypsy, she was a lot like him, even if she was still out of his league.

"Mmh. Yeah, invite her Cisco, but start with something small. Maybe not declaring your everlasting love over dinner…" Barry chuckled and Cisco punched him.

"Don't do that, man that is not friendship." Cisco said overdramatically.

Before Barry could make another joke a noise broke the silence of the night. Both boys froze in their spots, not daring to make a move.

They heard the noise again, it sounded like a low growl. And then it was over.

"Did you hear that, or was it all in my head?" Cisco whispered and looked over to Barry.

"Maybe we should go home…" Barry answered but a louder growl interrupted him.

And then all hell broke loose. Cisco and Barry ran, and someone, no, _something_ , was following them. They heard footsteps running after them, growling and panting. Barry turned his head around, but all he saw was Cisco and something red behind him, catching up.

Cisco panted, but he wasn't as fast as Barry. He heard the thing behind him, snarling at him and before he could react, something clawed in his shoulder, making him yelp out in pain. He reached inside his pockets, found the thing he was looking for and before the creature could hit him again, he hit it with his electro shocker. But it was not an ordinary electro shocker, it was much stronger, longer lasting. Of course it was, Cisco invented it.

The creature let go of his shoulder and roared in pain.

Cisco got up and ran after Barry. The creature, whatever it was, was angry. Roaring, snarling and growling, it got up and charged after them again. It would get to them.

Barry panted and saw Cisco catching up with him. He saw some blood pouring out of his friends shoulder and a pained expression on his face. But adrenaline made Cisco run faster, ignoring the pain.

They had to get away from here, away from the woods. Away from this creature.

But then Barry tripped and fell down. Cisco stopped and tried to help him up, but stopped dead in his tracks. Barry did not, as he first though, trip over some piece of wood.

He tripped over the upper half of a dead body. A women, probably a teenager. Her dead eyes stared at him, accusing him.

He gulped.

The girl looked rather familiar.

Cisco was the first one to break out of the trance.

"Get up, Barry!" he grabbed his arm, helped his friend up and ran, leaving the dead girl behind. But Barry seemed to be in a trance.

"RUN! BARRY! RUN!" he screamed and Barry snapped out of it.

He ran, ran as he never ran before, looking behind him for a split second to see the creature looming over the spot he tripped. But he had to ignore it.

Both boys ran through the woods, towards the safety of Cisco's car. Leaving Barry's bike on the ground, the opened the doors and Cisco started the motor and drove. It did not matter where they drove, but away from here. Far away from here.

A minute later, something came out of the woods, looking from the black bike on the grass back to the road, where it saw the backlights of a truck growing smaller and smaller in the distance. The creature growled softly and stepped into the light of the road, looking after its prey.

But it was not a creature. At least not entirely. A teenage girl with brown hair, a red leather jacket and stained blue jeans stood there. Her eyes blinked in the darkness, almost golden. She put a hand to one of the trees, leaving claw marks and grinned, showing a row of perfectly white fangs.


End file.
